As Gary Ferrell, the new executive director of the Norris Center for the Performing Arts, looks on, technicians are busily erecting the Land of Sweets for Palos Verdes Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.”

It’s a fantasyland of brightly colored candy canes and sugarplums that presents a dramatic contrast to the bitter economic reality lurking just outside the stage door in Rolling Hills Estates.

It’s a dichotomy of which Ferrell is well aware.

“Actually, I’m more encouraged now than I was five weeks ago when I came in the door,” says the 56-year-old former executive vice president for business development, and chief financial officer, of Los Angeles public television station KCET.

“I know what it’s like out there. I’ve been working in the not-for-profit world for 20 years. I know what it’s like to raise money in hard times. And there are going to be some hard times ahead. But right now, we’re actually doing pretty well,” he adds, humorously looking for some wood to knock on.

According to the man from Waco, Texas, 60 percent to 70 percent of the Norris Center’s revenue is generated by ticket sales. Additional funding is provided by the Center’s educational wing – the Negri Learning Center – and annual contributions from the Norris Foundation.

But to achieve the expanded level of quality programming Ferrell has in mind, he plans to seek additional funding from philanthropic organizations, grants and city government.

“Even though it’s going to be a very difficult money-raising environment in the next year, I think we can make some headway finding new funding, because for the first time we are going to make a lot of `asks,”‘ says Ferrell. “Our philanthropic dollars are relatively low compared with most performing arts venues. We receive no grants or government money at all. And that’s an area we probably need to explore.”

The Norris Center, which has an annual operating budget of $2.5 million, is a beloved cornerstone of the Palos Verdes Peninsula community. But if the theater and its second space, the Norris Pavilion, are to prosper, Ferrell says, the Center will have to attract new audiences, and not just from “up on the hill.”

To illustrate his point, Ferrell admits, rather sheepishly, that prior to applying for his new job, the longtime Redondo Beach resident had never attended a performance at the Norris Theatre.

“It’s one of those struggles the Norris has,” Ferrell observes. “It’s beloved up here on the hill and people feel so connected to the organization. But the Norris hasn’t been very effective in penetrating beyond the hill. But then, people in the South Bay are like that. They talk about downtown (Los Angeles) like it’s another country.”

One of Ferrell’s first projects, he says, will be to conduct a demographic survey to determine what type of shows people would like the Norris to present.

“Let’s be honest,” he says. “Everyone here has been spending their time guessing about what people want and what the demographic makeup is. We need more quantitative information, and not from audiences, but from all the communities of the South Bay.”

There’s no question Ferrell is qualified for the job. In fact, he may be more than qualified, with a degree in accounting, a former career as a CPA, and decades of experience working in television – first for Gene Autry’s Golden West Broadcasters and then for PBS stations KCET, locally, and KERA in Dallas.

“I think my credentials actually were an obstacle,” says Ferrell with a laugh. “They kept asking me, `Why do you want this job?’ And I kept telling them it was a combination of doing something that’s still in the entertainment business, is different from what I’ve been doing, is convenient, and gives me a chance to work in my own community.”

While Ferrell is somewhat reluctant to talk specifics, he did hint at a few programing ideas that are on his wish list.

“We don’t have delusions of grandeur,” he says. “We could never afford the stage version of `Les Miz.’ But there’s a concert version we might be able to do that would make a great opening night event. I am also a great fan of one-person shows for our theater series, like `The Godfather Workout,’ in which a single actor portrays all the characters in the movies. And I would like to see us present productions of Shakespeare.”

On the musical front, Ferrell says he would like to add a blues series to the Norris Pavilion’s jazz/cabaret performances and increase the number of classical music concerts and recitals at the Norris Theatre.

He also plans a redesign of the Norris’ Web site, to link to video clips of upcoming shows posted on Facebook and YouTube.

In the months to come, Ferrell also will be working closely with the Norris’ newly appointed artistic director, James Gruessing Jr., who directed this year’s highly successful production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

“Jim’s very tied into the theater community and has some great ideas,” says Ferrell. “The point I’m trying to make is that I’m really open to doing a lot of different things.”